Category: Wedding Jewelry

Your bridesmaids are often your sisters, soon to be sister-in-laws or your dear friends that know you so well. From standing beside you on your big day to helping you feel your best and celebrate your love, they’ve spent countless hours helping you plan and deal with all the pre-wedding stress that most likely took place. These ladies have been through it all with you and finding the right way to say thanks and make them feel appreciated may be challenging. Don’t fret! There are many ways to say thanks but we’ve rounded up our favorites that offer your genuine gratitude for their love and support!Read more

Plenty of brides have asked us, along with friends and family “Are these earrings too big?” or “Should I go with an elegant drop or stay with simple studs?” Wedding earrings can make or break an outfit, and on a bride’s wedding day they are essential to her ensemble. You want to add some glam to your look without stealing attention away from the gown. All earrings are made to be shown off. Therefore, you want to pick an earring that will get the proper kind of attention.

Balancing Your Wedding Earrings and Your Dress

Start by thinking about the style of your wedding dress. If your gown contains stunning silver beading, stick to earrings that are solely silver (Or maybe a pair with rhinestones for that touch of glam!).

(Right: USABride Allure CZ Wedding Earrings)

For those who have chosen dresses that have elegant pearl embroidery can bring attention to this classy detail by opting for a traditional pearl jewelry embedded with crystals or rhinestones if you want that extra glitz!

(Right: USABride Vintage Pearl Drop Earrings)

Gowns with an accented colored sash such as pink or burgundy look stunning with colored crystal earrings that match to add more to your bridal look. Adding color will also give you a more modern look.

(Right: USABride Pink Rhinestone Drop Earrings)

Also try to keep in mind your dress’ neckline. Brides wearing strapless gowns should go for a bold pair of earrings. This accent piece along with a stunning necklace will fill in all that open space.

(Right: USABride Krystalyn CZ Chandelier Earrings)

In contrast, if your dress has heavy ornamentation, your wedding earrings should be short enough so they don’t take away from the gown’s accent.

(Right: USABride Pearl CZ Earrings)

Incorporating Your Hairstyle

It is also extremely important to pay attention to how your wedding hairstyle and earrings will balance out. Soft, romantic hairstyles look best with elegant feminine accessories.

(Right: USABride Vanessa Glistening Chandelier Earrings)

While intense, flowing waves will look better with something a bit funkier.

(Right: USABride Fantasia CZ Dangle Earrings)

No matter what combination, your wedding earrings will add to the shine of your wedding day. Good luck, and happy shopping! For more inspiration, check out our Pinterest page! https://www.pinterest.com/usabride/

Bridesmaid jewelry is frequently given by brides to their ‘maids as a pre-wedding gift to invite them to share in her special day. It lets the bride coordinate her attendants’ looks and spares them the expense of having to buy jewelry to coordinate with their dresses. It’s considered almost mandatory at this point for brides who want their bridesmaids to match, to buy their gal pals’ jewelry sets.

There’s so much out there that some brides find it near impossible to choose. If you’ve been stressing out about your attendants’ jewelry, we have some pointers that will lower your wedding planning stress and beautifully complete your bridesmaids’ looks. Here’s our guide for bridesmaid jewelry:

Wedding Style:

Informal weddings call for less ornate jewelry, like single stone bridesmaid jewelry sets and delicate accessories. While larger, more formal affairs may warrant something more glamorous. It’s all about your preference, and what your girls will look best in!

Bridesmaid Dress Color:

Keep in mind that if you’ve fallen in love with a crystal jewelry set and the color isn’t an exact match, that’s okay! Ivory or champagne jewelry is neutral and works with almost all bridesmaid dress hues and is a little more exciting than colorless while still letting your wedding colors stand out.

Time of Year:

Spring and summer weddings call for lighter colors and can be often inspired by nature. Our Pure Sparkle Jewelry Set would be a perfect set for spring or summer. Fall and winter weddings may call for slightly darker shades like chocolate, burgundy or even black. Our Jacqueline Jewelry Set with it’s darker hued crystals would be perfect for the colder seasons.

Do they have to wear all the same bridesmaid jewelry?

Perish the thought! Of course not! One trend we’ve seen and loved is each bridesmaid wearing different colors and styles of jewelry and shoes. Just try to make sure that the jewelry you choose features the same gem and overall style so there’s a unifying factor. What’s fun about mixing it up a little is that buying the bridesmaid gift is easy- everyone is technically getting the same thing- but you can choose colors and designs that reflect your bridesmaids’ personalities.

Here’s what we mean: Everyone has a friend who’s larger than life. She loves to have fun and is brilliantly boisterous. Think lots of sparkle to match her sparkly personality, like a rhinestone jewelry set thats big and bold or a chunky pearl choker that has edge. For the bridesmaid who is more reserved, think classic and traditional, like a single stone rhinestone necklace set or a traditional drop pearl set.

Accessorizing a simple wedding dress with bridal jewelry and a headpiece should be easy! But the fact is, it can be surprisingly difficult! That’s because more ornate wedding gowns have their own embellishments that serve as a guide. For instance, a wedding dress with pearls ought to be paired with pearl wedding jewelry. A dress splashed with rhinestones calls for the same. But a simple wedding dress? Has nothing to guide you as you shop for your bridal jewelry and headpiece.

But bridal accessories can make or break a wedding day look. And that’s also part of the problems brides-to-be face when accessorizing a simple wedding dress. Accessories like jewelry and tiaras should not overpower the dress. Overdoing it is way too easy in a plain sheath or something similar. With a simple wedding dress, accessories should be a focal point but not out of control. Here are my 5 top tips for picking the perfect accessories to complement a simple wedding dress:

1. Choose a statement piece. This is your chance to wear something big, fun, and glamorous like our Elegant dangle earrings or our Crystal Fascination set. A pop of color may be big right now, but with a very simple wedding dress color can steal the show and make your overall look feel less formal.

2. Simple dress, simple veil. It’s a rule of thumb that’s made to be broken, but it’s also one I stand by. A very basic veil with no beading or edging harmonizes with an unembellished gownand let’s accessories rule.

3. Don’t over accessorize! A huge necklace paired with huge earrings and a big bracelet plus an over the top updo will make your simply elegant gown look positively plain. Let your statement piece guide your other choices.

Pearls have long been a part of the bride’s wedding day must-haves and their history as jewelry is nearly as rich as the history of humanity itself. Cultures from around the world have embraced pearls as part of clothing and accessories because of their natural beauty and warmth. Brides who choose pearl wedding jewelry are part of that history, whether they wear creamy freshwater pearls in a variety of intense shades of ivory, cream, and rum pink; cultured saltwater pearls in any of the same hues, or manmade glass pearls with all the weight and shine of the real thing.

What are Freshwater Pearls?

Today, let’s talk about freshwater pearls. Many of our pearl wedding jewelry sets feature rich, natural freshwater pearls – and sometimes our customers are surprised to find that in this case the real thing isn’t much more expensive than our accessories crafted with high quality faux pearls. That’s because freshwater pearls are more abundant than natural or cultured saltwater pearls because the freshwater mollusks that grow these pearls can create up to 50 at a time! So even though most freshwater pearls come from just a few bodies of water in Japan and China, they are still more abundant and thus less expensive.

And yet it’s interesting to note that freshwater pearls actually contain more nacre (shiny stuff) than saltwater pearls! When saltwater pearls are harvested and drilled, the nucleus around which the oyster created the pearl is still there. Freshwater pearls grow around a smaller nucleus that is drilled away during the finishing process, leaving nothing but nacre. The main difference is that investment quality cultured saltwater pearls are often perfectly spherical – identical from one to the next. Freshwater pearls are unique – irregular in shape and more suited to use in fashion jewelry.

How Do Brides Wear Freshwater Pearls?

For the traditional bride, the simple single strand of freshwater pearls – alone or combined with Austrian rhinestones or pave crystals – is a must have. But the dramatic bride should consider something more intense, like our Spectacular Fresh Water Pearl Tiara and Spectacular Fresh Water Pearl Jewelry Set as shown throughout this post. Today’s bride-to-be has almost limitless options when it comes to pearl wedding jewelry sets for herself and her bridesmaids. If you haven’t yet considered freshwater pearls, now is a great to take a second look!

Now I hate to be confusing. If you follow my posts you know that I’m always saying anything goes, do what you love, wear what you want, etc. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some style mistakes that should be avoided. You can wear what you love and look a bit silly – or worse, look back and realize you don’t really like how you looked on your wedding day. For that reason alone it pays to pay the tiniest bit of attention to some simple style rules.

So what are the bridal jewelry mistakes you might be making without even realizing you’re about to commit a fashion faux pas? Read on!

1. You buy your bridal jewelry before your dress.

I’m not going to say there’s not a single reason to grab jewelry before the gown – a good sale is a good sale, after all – but how can you accessorize your wedding dress if you don’t even have it yet? Even if you’re in love with your necklace, earrings, bracelet and shoes, and headpiece, too, you may end up with an overall bridal ensemble that looks incomplete or mismatched.

2. You’re upstaging the dress.

You find the ultimate wedding gown and now you’re draping it in every bit of crystal and every pearl you can find. That’s wonderful except… your perfect dress is already embellished to the max. My advice – take it down a notch. Think about balance. A beaded, lacy gown with lots of bows and ruffles may call for simpler bridal jewelry than a simple sheath that can be dressed to the nines. But be careful. Sometimes a bold dress demands bold jewelry.

3. You have ignored your skin tone.

You were so careful when wedding dress shopping to differentiate between ivory and cream and diamond white, now you’ve descended upon the pearls with nary a thought to your own coloring. Are you a gold or silver girl in your day to day life? Stick with the tones that work well on you. Gold wedding jewelry may not be as popular as silver but if it looks gorgeous on you, who cares?

4. You’re getting too trendy.

Your wedding day will be over in a few hours; your wedding photos will be there forever. Make sure you still love looking at them years later by thinking timeless. Sure, no piece of clothing or accessory is truly timeless but some trends are more long-lasting than others.

5. Your thinking is limited.

This is a great time to play dress up. You’re shopping – try something new! Maybe you always wear tiny stud earrings. It’s fine if you want to wear them on your big day, too, but why not think outside of your usual repertoire and have some fun. Try on pieces that don’t immediately call to you. It’s like wedding dresses – the one you fall in love with isn’t always the one you thought you’d like!

6. You’re getting too matchy-matchy.

Maybe you have a special accessory you inherited from your grandmother and you’re trying to build your bridal jewelry ensemble around that. Don’t worry about achieving perfect harmony. Your gran’s pendant can be the standout piece that takes center stage. No one is going to notice if its gemstones are champagne while your other accessories are crystal clear. In fact, the difference could make that pendant all the more striking!

7. You’re wearing a veil when you’d rather not.

Yes, it’s traditional but so was capturing brides back in the day. You can wear a tiara, a headband, or nothing at all! The same goes for almost everything else. If you don’t want to wear earrings, don’t. If bracelets make your wrists itch or you can simply never find the right size, why feel obligated to wear one. They’re accessories, for goodness sake. They should be fun. If they aren’t, move on!

Last week, I posted some of my absolute favorite 2015 wedding dresses (from some of my fave designers) and this morning I thought let’s talk about some of the bridal jewelry you can wear with a simple wedding gown. Why go simple when elaborate is so often the name of the game in the bridal world? The short answer is because you can accessorize with impunity. Anything goes! So with that in mind, why don’t we go on a little tour of my favorites from our collection…

Looking for a dramatic wedding headpiece? This epic (seriously) bridal headband features amazing round and marquise rhinestones in a showstopping arrangement that will frame your face in the most dramatic way.

And the best part? Right now you can snap it up for 15% – all month long! Just use the coupon code TIARA15 at checkout!Read more

Trust me when I say that industrial weddings are going to be big in 2015. From wedding venues that were once active-duty factories to classic Tolix cafe chairs, all things gritty will be hot. Love the idea of saying your vows in high industrial style? Then keep scrolling for some amazing industrial wedding inspiration plus advice on how to take this trend and make it your own.

Everything about this ceremony space is perfection, but who could imagine mylar balloons would fit right in? And yet there they are spelling out every bride’s favorite word! No bare brick interiors in your local venues? Municipal spaces may offer the same feel.

Luxury and industry go hand in hand in this contemporary bridal headband that’s glamorous, gorgeous, and will fit right into an industrial theme. If you want to take your look to the next level, look for similar bridal headbands that keep the metal scroll work but ditch the pearls.

How can you NOT love this neon sign for a industrial ceremony or a reception? Best part, it’s the kind of decor piece that you can keep forever and actually display.

Keep wedding guests cool with the kind of fans that make factory floors tolerable in the warmer months. Or if yours is the opposite problem because you’re a wintertime bride, rent the metal stand-up heaters that the sidewalk cafes use. Either way, you’re adding to the atmosphere.

Need more light than one neon sign can offer? Brighten up your reception with scaled down flood lights (find them cheap at IKEA) and marquee lighting. If you can rent, do it but consider that you may be able to resell lighting that’s only available for sale.

You’re probably not going to wear a princess dress to an industrial inspired wedding (though you’ll never hear me tell you not to). Look for ethereal bridal gowns featuring layers upon layers of thin materials that make you feel not like a princess, but like an urban angel.

When it comes to industrial wedding guest book ideas, this is one that is truly alternative. Have guests tag a canvas already painted with your names and the date. This is another amazing keepsake you’ll actually want to keep – and display!

Love that ladder, those square matte vases, and the romantic touch in the form of photos of the bride and groom… in black & white, of course. This would be such an easy DIY for the tables and the hanging piece.

As noted above, the space you choose for your wedding goes a long way toward making your wedding look and feel industrial but explore alternative spaces that offer the same vibe when possible.

While I’m not going to suggest that you start collecting cinderblocks, they actually could stand in nicely for the square vase centerpieces above. You just turn them on their sides and place flowers arranged in small glasses in the holes. See?Read more

Who wouldn’t want to look like Kate Middleton, anyway? No matter what, you’ll feel like a princess on your wedding day but if you want to look like a princess – well, Duchess – our founder and bridal stylist Dareth Colburn has some tips!